Cross River Bank announced that its parent company, CRB Group, has signed an agreement to acquire Accrue, a fintech company focused on customer loyalty at the payment layer. The deal expands Cross River's end-to-end technology infrastructure by adding branded wallet and stored value capabilities. Once completed, the acquisition is expected to let partners offer wallets and financial products directly to their customers.
Strategic Expansion of Embedded Finance
Cross River provides regulated financial infrastructure for large global brands, offering embedded solutions across accounts, cards, payments, lending, digital assets, and agentic commerce. By integrating Accrue's wallet, stored value, and incentive tracking technology, Cross River can now deliver a more complete embedded finance stack. This combination allows clients to connect payments with loyalty rewards in a single experience.
Executive Views on Payments and Loyalty
Cross River founder and CEO Gilles Gade said that payments and loyalty are becoming one, noting that many brands now want their own wallets. He added that with Accrue, clients can build those wallets on Cross River's platform. Gade also expressed enthusiasm about working with Michael Hershfield and his team to help clients create the financial super apps of the future.
Accrue's Vision and Team Integration
Accrue founder and CEO Michael Hershfield explained that he started the company believing financial products would increasingly live inside everyday brand experiences. Accrue brings that vision to life by embedding wallets, payments, stored value, and rewards directly into the merchant experience. Hershfield said Cross River shares that vision and offers the technology, scale, and global reach to take it further.
Transaction Details and Milestone
Accrue's team will join Cross River, and Michael Hershfield will take a leadership role in building out the company's embedded finance offerings. The transaction remains subject to customary closing conditions, and no financial terms were disclosed. The move marks another milestone in Cross River's continued expansion across the embedded finance landscape.
Cross River's Technology Platform
Cross River builds technology that powers the future of financial services through a proprietary real-time digital banking core. The company delivers embedded payments, cards, lending, digital asset, and agentic solutions to millions of consumers and businesses. It is backed by leading investors and serves some of the world's most essential technology and fintech companies.
Accrue's Platform and Market Opportunity
Accrue is a financial technology company that powers modern customer loyalty at the payment layer. Its branded wallet platform enables merchants to connect stored value, payments, rewards, and customer engagement in one experience. The acquisition positions both companies to support brands as payments and loyalty converge across physical, digital, and agentic channels.
The Next Phase of Embedded Finance
The next phase of embedded finance will be led by brands and platforms that are closest to their customers. As payments and loyalty continue to converge across physical, digital, and agentic channels, the combined offering from Cross River and Accrue is designed to bring branded wallets, payments, stored value, and rewards to those brands at scale. This strategic focus aligns with the growing expectation that financial products will live inside the daily experiences consumers already trust.
By acquiring Accrue, Cross River strengthens its ability to serve brands that want to combine financial products with customer engagement. The deal reflects a broader industry shift in which payments, loyalty, and digital wallets are increasingly delivered through the platforms customers already use. With Accrue's team and technology integrated into its stack, Cross River aims to help partners build the next generation of embedded financial experiences.